First Financial Bankshares Inc Sells 150,162 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• First Financial Bankshares Inc reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 17.8%, now holding $62.31 million worth of shares, making it the 25th largest position in their investment portfolio.
• Several institutional investors, including Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC and MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC, have recently acquired new positions in Merck, contributing to a total institutional ownership of 76.07%.
• Merck & Co., Inc. announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend of $3.24 and a yield of 3.9%.

First Financial Bankshares Inc decreased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 17.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 694,223 shares of the company's stock after selling 150,162 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises about 1.3% of First Financial Bankshares Inc's holdings, making the stock its 25th largest position. First Financial Bankshares Inc's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $62,313,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth $36,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK traded up $0.54 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $84.59. The company's stock had a trading volume of 13,229,817 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,219,465. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $120.30. The stock has a market cap of $211.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.03, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $82.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $83.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%.The company had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. Research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is currently 49.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on MRK. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price objective (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Profile

Merck & Co, Inc is a health care company, which engages in the provision of health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health, and consumer care products. It operates through the following segments: Pharmaceutical, Animal Health, and Other. The Pharmaceutical segment includes human health pharmaceutical and vaccine products.